The Encounter
by oldladywolfy
Summary: This is a 10 part drabble series set after Buffer transfers at the end of season 3. I don't understand the word count system here as each section is 100 words in my Word document.
1. Chapter 1

**He caught her eye across the crowded barroom floor.**

**She smiled, and slowly meandered over to the bar, taking the empty seat beside him.**

**For several long seconds they said nothing, their slight smiles supplementing the lingering looks they exchanged; their familiar hellos.**

"**I've missed you," she said.**

**Her voice was a mere whisper in the surrounding din of the crowded pub, yet it screamed to his impoverished senses.**

**His reply echoed her hushed tone. "I've missed you too, X."**

"**I'm not your X any more," she countered, their gazes holding in a mutual caress.**

"**You'll always be my X."**


	2. Chapter 2

**She reached up and gently touched his face.**

**He momentarily closed his eyes and drank in the brief caress, his quiet acceptance prompting her to lovingly stroke his cheek.**

"**You can call me Kate now," she suggested.**

**He covered her tiny hand with his, lightly caressing it with his thumb. Then raising it to his lips, he gently kissed her palm.**

**Sensing no hesitation, he smiled and lovingly traced the contours of her mouth before replying, "Hi, Kate. I'm Pete."**

**Kate returned his smile, her eyes twinkling.**

"**Hello, Pete. It will be a pleasure to finally get to know you."**


	3. Chapter 3

No one noticed their departure as they walked quietly out of the pub, clinging to anonymity at the edges of the crowd.

Once outside she reached for his hand; its warmth penetrating a mind and body left numb by the sudden shock of his transfer.

Hope crept back into his veins and he clung to the lifeline she offered.

She led; he followed, unquestionably. All seemed as always. Only their clinging hands revealed the alteration in status; his compliance no longer of duty, but desire.

Arriving home, she unlocked her door and stepped back, inviting another subtle shift.

"After you."


	4. Chapter 4

He turned, facing her as she closed the door.

He hadn't realized the depth of his longing until he saw her again.

_Then she touched him._

He defied the inner craving.

_Then she took his hand._

He resisted the desire it triggered, his mind wresting with his body's need to indulge the inner ache.

_Then she let him go._

He relived the desolation he'd felt when he'd left the Hammersley, and its heart: her.

Now with an addict's insatiable need he craved that touch again; his hunger deepening to a yearning that would not quelled.

He reached for her again.


	5. Chapter 5

She hadn't realized how much she'd missed him till she saw him again; his familiar gaze dredging up old memories and the intense feeling of loss she'd tried so hard to suppress.

It drew her to him. Just a brief hello. She'd missed him so. What was the harm?

_And then she touched him_, compelled by feelings stronger than her sense of reserve.

_And he'd responded_.

His touch ignited feelings she'd thought long buried; her inhibitions blown away in the breath of a fleeting kiss.

_She took his hand_, and he followed her, as always, and it felt so right.


	6. Chapter 6

Kate closed the door and looked into his beckoning eyes; his mounting need reflected in their smouldering depths.

She took the hand he offered and he pulled her slowly toward him, their eyes connecting as they had so many times before; their thoughts floating on the airways between them.

But now there were no vests, no mates, no dearth of solitude nor written words to halt their flow. Their naked thoughts invited their bodies to join them; his limpid pools begging for permission. She left her inhibitions drowning in their depths.

She reached for his shirt and the ritual continued.


	7. Chapter 7

Kate had always held the past so tightly that her arms were never free to embrace the present. Now she felt the glorious freedom of release as her hands made contact.

She flipped the buttons, one by one.

Her hands slipped inside the folds and she slid the shirt over his shoulders, pulling it free. The feel of his naked body was intoxicating. She reached for his buckle and her hands continued, as her sultry gaze melted into his. They finished their work, and the familiar pattern suddenly changed.

She looked.

Oh God, how she looked, and drank him in.


	8. Chapter 8

Pete stood transfixed while she completed her task, her eyes reflecting her varied emotions and whipping his into a frenzy. When she finally severed the contact, he followed her lead.

He moved with slow deliberation mimicking her previous movements, as item by item he peeled away her protection.

He had always thought of her as small but mighty but he had never truly appreciated her fragile femininity till he gazed at her naked form; her diminutive features beautiful in their perfection.

There were no more secrets between them. With their bodies unveiled, their eyes screaming their passion, he took command.


	9. Chapter 9

Pete lightly stroked her body; the silky feel of her skin igniting his senses, his touch driving Kate's hands to an exploration of their own.

Her intoxicating scent, normally a mere tease in the wind, became overpowering; her movements provocative.

Seeking refuge in her lips, he sampled them first with his own. He then began exploring; lightly skimming their surface with his tongue, tasting their salty tang, begging a response.

She quickly invited him in and met his searching tongue with her own, deepening the kiss as their senses exploded and both became lost in a sea of churning passion.


	10. Chapter 10

He picked her up and drew her close.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, moulding herself to him. She fit him like a glove, embracing his heat, increasing his urgency; beginning a rhythm that begged a response.

_Bodies entwined,_  
_he quickened his pace,_  
___locked in the dance of desire._

_Now flesh on flesh, _  
_two become one,_  
___seared by the heat of passion._

_It started with a glance,_  
_And she was captivated_

_A gaze_  
_And she was drowning_

_A touch_  
_And she was lost_

_A kiss_  
_And she surrendered_

_His love_  
_And she was reborn,_

_The vortex_  
_To his storm _


End file.
